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Vanilla Garlic is my nifty food blog that I tinker at with essays about life and food that I like to think are humorous or thoughtful. I also work as a freelance writer and a cookbook author. Whether I succeed at any of this debatable.

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Monday, April 21, 2008

Hank and Holly recently held a Big Fat Greek Party. How Big, Fat, and Greek was it?

Well, let me give some back story first.... I dragged Rob and my two friends, Jill and Alan, with me to the bacchanalian event with promises of delicious food and good company. Acquiescing to my argument (I promised food to students, it wasn't pulling teeth) they agreed.Upon arriving we were greeted by Hank, adorned in his grilling attire, and Holly, a.k.a. Hera. We were poured each an Octopini and gestured to the table.

Now Hank pretty much prepared, grew, of killed every single speck of food at this event. He grilled the octopus (and pickled them for the Octopinis), made all the salads, cured all the olives, seasoned and grilled the quail, killed the antelope for the sausages (plural, as in many kinds of salami and sausages), butchered the lamb - of which there were chops, flanks, sausages, and two legs that had smoked and cured for two days. (You can find many of the recipes on Hank's site.)

My god, it was an event. I can honestly say I have not eaten that well in a long time.

I did have a small contribution, I brought my famous baklava. It seemed to go over quite well, though it was a bit soggy as I was working in a new kitchen and my timing got all off. Still, it was tasty and I altered the recipe by adding some vanilla bean, Meyer lemon, and whole cardamom pods. YUM!All and all, a wonderful event! Thanks Hank and Holly! Can't wait till next year and the next bottle of Ouzo!

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comments:

Strangely enough, they were a hit. We even ran out of octopi for the octopinis. And pretty much everyone ate the garnish. Except me. After nursing one octopus in my glass all night, I misplaced it and never got to nibble his little legs.

I am in awe of Hank's hunter-gatherer skills and you can bet I am heading over to his site! However, I am not a martini fan on the best of days and a martini with floating octopus....not so much. I'll trade mine for an extra helping of lamb!

Hey, you're leaving a comment! That's pretty darn cool, so thanks. If you have any questions or have found an error on the site or with a recipe, please e-mail me and I will reply as soon as possible.~Garrett